The Future Of What Podcast
A Podcast About the State of the Music Industry
Founded by Music Biz President, Portia Sabin as a way to educate musicians on the realities of the music business, The Future of What Podcast has become a forum where significant voices in our industry discuss important issues of the day. Tune in as she hosts important industry figureheads and innovators alike in exciting discussions on where the music business is headed next!
October 7, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #267 — Gut Instincts and Data: The Constants of A&R’s Evolution
Killphonic Rights is a creator-founded, full-service music company, with Michelle Fantus serving as Head of A&R. Michelle has witnessed the evolution of artists and repertoire over her tenure in the industry, seeing music consumption go from iTunes downloads to streaming, and now music discovery being redefined by AI & algorithms. While some things have changed for A&R over the past decade, the practice remains the same at its core. In this episode, Michelle walks through the performance measures that A&Rs of both the past and present evaluate,... Click Here To Listen
September 30, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #266 — ONErpm’s Artist-First Approach to Business
As a distributor, publishing company, creator of DIY platform OFFstep and one of the world’s largest music MCNs on YouTube, ONErpm is considered a full-service, modern record label. The company puts artists at the forefront by emphasizing transparency and education at both the front end and back end, and even has its own CMS platform for artists to track spending & marketing plans. In this episode, Head of Marketing Jenna LoMonaco details how ONErpm supports &... Click Here To Listen
September 23, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #265 — What It Means to Win A Clio Award: A Chat With Michael Kauffman
The Clio Awards have celebrated advertising & creative works across industries dating back to the 1950s, diversifying into different programs over time, including Clio Music in 2014. In this episode, we speak with Michael Kauffman of Clio Music on the three pillars of The Clios, and break it down further into the three award areas of the music branch, along with how to enter. Michael also expands on the true value of recent winning campaigns from around the globe,... Click Here To Listen
September 16, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #264 — How Has Music Evolved Into Such a Viable Asset Class?
In the past, artists needed to sign with record labels who would take out bank loans in order to provide financing. Now thanks to companies like Sound Royalties, artists can receive financing via advances without giving up any ownership. Possible income generating streams for artists have also grown from few to many, transforming music into a viable asset class. In this episode, Alex Heiche discusses how this evolution occurred, the importance of educating artists on where their income is coming from,... Click Here To Listen
August 26, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #263 — Assessing the State of AI in Music with Voice-Swap’s Mike Pelczynski @ Music Biz 2025!
Mike Pelczynski has been a part of many important conversations on the subject of AI as the Chief Strategic and Innovation Officer of voice conversion platform, Voice-Swap. These discussions revealed that general sentiments towards AI have shifted from fear to that of constructive concern. In this episode, Mike examines how some issues posed by AI can be addressed using solutions we are already familiar with, the importance of strategic partners for major stakeholders, how the music industry’s approach to AI guides other industries,... Click Here To Listen
August 19, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #262 — Inside Soundstripe’s Music Licensing Strategy with Global Head of Partnerships, Angela Abbott!
Soundstripe is a tech-enabled music licensing company working with brands, agencies and rightsholders, housing 1.5 million users in 160 countries. In this episode, Soundstripe’s Angela Abbott walks us through their licensing process, emphasizing how the platform ensures artists maintain sonic identity. She then imparts advice to early-level professionals, and addresses aspects of licensing that may be overlooked, such as microsync, the importance of valuing licensed music to ad spend, and differences in monetization models from platform to platform.... Click Here To Listen
August 13, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #261 — Independent Sector Happenings with A2IM’s Lisa Hresko @ Music Biz 2025!
At Music Biz 2025, Lisa Hresko of A2IM moderated a panel on growth strategies for independent music companies, a topic which she touches upon in this podcast recorded live at the Conference! She further expands the conversation to discuss how artists can “choose their own adventure” in the industry today by tapping into the independent community. Lisa also speaks on A2IM’s current projects, including advocacy for the HITS Act and other legislation. Click here to access our entire backlog of interviews on The Future of What Podcast!... Click Here To Listen
August 5, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #260 — Dissecting the State of Physical Music with Carrie Colliton @ Music Biz 2025!
We spoke with Carrie Colliton of DORS & Record Store Day at Music Biz 2025 about the recent sales surge at indie record stores, how sales data from record stores was on the verge of exclusion from Luminate reporting, and the power of community that brought about the deal to keep that data counted. The conversation also touches on both the positive and the negative effects of streaming on indie music, as streaming helps new fans discover albums they want to own on CD or vinyl but can also devalue music through lower price points.... Click Here To Listen
July 22, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #259 — Democratizing Artist Marketing: A Conversation with Chuka Chase of SymphonyOS @ Music Biz 2025!
We sat down with Chuka Chase, co-founder of SymphonyOS, during Music Biz 2025 to talk about his company, his experience at the Conference, and the convergence of the music and tech industries. He discusses his professional journey which led him from the tech space to music, as he compares and contrasts how both industries operate. He also covers how the internet has made the music industry less siloed, and how SymphonyOS continues this democratization of knowledge for today’s artists.... Click Here To Listen
July 15, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #258 — The Impacts Of The Current PRO System On Small Venues
In this episode, we discuss the motivations behind NIVA’s letter to the US Copyright Office in conversation with Tobi Parks of the National Independent Venue Foundation (NIVF). Tobi disputes the narrative that licensees are just trying to cut costs, explaining how the current PRO system, combined with a lack of education provided to licensees and artists, leaves an untapped pool of money waiting to be fairly distributed. She also dives into the unique issues faced within the US due to having multiple PRO entities,... Click Here To Listen
